“Johnny Appleseed”*
(Written by Reynold D Philipsek copyright 2012)
Guitars, bass and vocals-Reynold
Percussion-Michael Bissonnette
recording engineer-Stymie Seamans
I really hate to see the summer end but such is the cycle. This tune means a lot to me and I hope it can resonate with a few of you as well. It has a sort of autumnal quality to it.
I sometimes associate music and certain tonalities with colors and this one has a lot of brown and orange in my mind. I am not implying that I have full-blown synesthesia but this has always been the case when I hear music.
Scriabin made certain claims that every key was associated with a different color. Rimsky Korsakoff (someone Scriabin knew well) made the same claim. Interestingly, they did not agree about the color/key relationship.
I have been a performing musician since I was 12 years old. At least that is when I first was paid to play. (It was $12 dollars). I joined the Musician Union at 14 and have tried to make my living from music ever since.
The “Johnny Appleseed” analogy always seemed apt to me because musicians are itinerant workers and trying to sow some seeds of happiness. For years I struggled to write a song that would reflect that idea.
This is as close as I could get.
The concept is hard to put into words.
Be safe. Be well.
Love,
Reyn